Dr Anita Ghai, a fellow disability activist and Associate Professor made to crawl by Alliance Air in absence of wheelchair at Delhi Airport

Dear Colleagues, 

Here is a shocking case of apathy revealed by our fellow disability activist Dr. Anita Ghai, an associate professor about the treatment meted out to her by the Alliance Air - a regional carrier operated by Air India at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Dr. Ghai - a passenger with disability was denied a wheelchair while de-boarding from an Air India flight.

Dr. Anita Ghai, Associate Professor & a wheelchair user

Dr. Ghai was forced to crawl off plane and onto tarmac after airline failed to provide a wheelchair for her' 

• Dr Ghai claims she waited 30 minutes for a wheelchair that never arrived
• She said she crawled down the steps and onto a bus bound for a terminal 
• India's Alliance Air has denied the claims and said it offered a wheelchair

Anita Ghai said she was left shocked and embarrassed by the way she was treated by Alliance Air, a regional carrier operated by Air India, at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The 53-year-old claims she had to crawl off the plane and onto a bus that took her to the terminal after she waited half an hour for a wheelchair that never arrived.

Ghai, who uses a wheelchair after suffering polio as a child, told DNA India she stayed behind after the other passengers had disembarked.

She said: ‘They [the flight attendants] told me that the wheelchair will come, but it did not. The door of the plane is narrow so I knew the chair could not be brought inside, but they did not even have an aisle chair.

‘I can’t stand as I have polio, so I crawled down the steps waiting for the chair.’

Ghai, a disability rights advocate and associate professor at Delhi University, said a wheelchair was provided once she reached the arrival hall after the bus ride.

She said the incident occurred after she arrived in New Delhi from Dehradun on Saturday night. She said she told staff before arriving that she would need a wheelchair.

In a statement given to India’s national press, Air India denied the woman’s claims.

The airline said: ‘Since the flight was parked at a distant bay it took some time to bring the wheelchair. Since passengers were getting down from the aircraft, our support staff actively helped the passenger to come out of the aircraft ensuring any inconvenience and the wheelchair was provided at aircraft doorstep.

‘We deeply regret any inconvenience caused to the passenger. However, we strongly deny the statement appearing in media. ‘We at Air India give utmost importance to passenger safety and comfort.’

Dr. Ghai shot back at the airline, refuting the claim of the airline saying that it was ‘blatantly lying’ and she is considering legal action.

Sources:

Times of India: 30 Jan 2016, Disabled woman passenger alleges Air India made her 'crawl'

Dail Mail: 01 Feb 2016, Disabled passenger 'was forced to crawl off plane and onto tarmac after airline failed to provide a wheelchair for her' 

NDTV: 31 Jan 2016, Differently-Abled Woman Passenger Alleges Air India Made Her 'Crawl'

The Hindu: 31 Jan 2016, Air India made me ‘crawl’, claims disabled woman

DNA India: 31 Jan 2016  Disabled passenger made to crawl, slams 'liar' Air India's statement